Much Ado About $1 Billion

There are several Apple blogs who have become extremely irritated over the fact that some people in the financial world are saying unlocked iPhones have cost Apple $1 billion in unrealized revenues. Is that a ridiculous notion to explore? For 99% of the world's population, yes. Apple makes a shitload of money on every sale of an iPhone, with or without revenue sharing from a wireless company. However, the people who are bringing up the $1 billion number are financial guys, and they are trying to crunch imaginary numbers about the future. This really is an issue about profit margins, and unlocked iPhones have smaller profit margins than iPhones sold and used on revenue sharing wireless networks. The analysts are not in the business of asking a question like: Will Apple Inc grow? The real question is, by how much?

There's been an unpleasant crossover between blogs of people who love Apple's technology and financial blogs. It was easy for the Apple enthusiasts to get drawn into the financial blogs that praised Apple's new technology. But now that the goal in this recession is to punish any sliver of perceived weakness, the same Apple enthusiasts are upset the financial guys still aren't focusing on the technology. My advice is to continue to enjoy and write about the specifics of the technology, but stay away from the money side of things.